In recent weeks I have had several conversations with people about the current political climate being created in America. Many of my friends believe in the extreme measures being taken by our Governors and politicians to protect the "greater good". I have been told I am minimalizing the Covid deaths because I point out that the virus has an extremely high survivability rate. I have been told I don't care about my fellow man because I want businesses and schools open. I have been called a lot of names and told I should stop being so contrary and see the good of these decisions I feel are not doing anything for the greater good. The three things that have been pointed out the most are locking down to stop the virus and prevent further deaths, redistribution of wealth so the poor can be in a better position and making radical change to our political structure to provide "safety".
The first greater good I fight against are the draconian lockdowns. The other side says the lockdowns are needed because of "science" and if you don't agree then you must not believe in science. I do agree that science is an evolving thing and what the "experts" say today that may contradict what they said last month may indeed be true due to new evidence. Do I think lockdowns will stop the virus? NO. Do I think it will slow the spread to help the hospitals catch up? YES. But at what social cost do we lock everything down. There is another science that should be taken into consideration, Psychology and the emotional impact of these lockdowns. Since we first locked down back in March we have seen huge spikes in drug and alcohol addiction, physical and sexual abuses in the home, homicides, and suicides. All of those things matter too. All of those things lead to deaths that are being disregarded by the lock down "scientists". The fact remains that while Covid is highly contagious, it is not highly deadly. Unless you are seventy years or older and have pre-existing conditions the likelihood you will get Covid and survive is incredibly high. Just like all other viruses throughout history we will survive this one. We will come up with a vaccine that minimizes the effects and death associated with it. We will go on with our lives. The only lasting impact will be how we as an economy survive. We will either end the lockdowns and learn to live with the virus and ultimately maintain our thriving economy or we will turn all authority over to the government lock everything down and cost millions of people businesses and their livelihood and become another third world socialist country for "the greater good". I for one an terrified more of the later.
Next I get told that the biggest problem we face is Capitalism. I get told that Capitalism only aids the rich in getting richer. Here the truth matters as well. What we consider poor in America other nations would love to have because their people are starving and dying in the streets. If this pandemic has shown anything it is that the only people making any money are the giant multi-billion dollar businesses like Walmart or Amazon. These major corporations have made over one TRILLION dollars in profit this year. That is more than any previous years. And while these giants are raking in money hand over fist the small and medium business owners are being forced to close their doors and fire all their employees for "The greater good". These business owners have no way to survive shutting down for more than two months in most cases. Small and medium businesses run on very thin profit margins and in the end cannot and will not survive long term shut downs. Why do these people that preach the "greater good" not see that the greatest good is done by letting businesses open and allowing people to take the proper steps in wearing masks, social distancing, and using proper hygiene to ensure people have jobs and can pay their bills. A friend of mine yesterday said "They are only having to close because the Government did not do enough to help them". My problem with this statement is the govt needs to get that money from somewhere. He believes they should raise taxes on major corporations and big business and give the money to these small businesses. I know for a fact this will cause businesses to take their headquarters and move out of the country costing thousands or millions of jobs. We need to stop thinking the government is there to solve our problems. So in the end do we give up our freedoms and allow the govt to run our day to day lives or do we fight for our way of life and maintain the freedom and luxuries Capitalism has afforded us? I for one am not willing to give up my freedoms for the idea it will help the "greater good".
Lastly I have been told we should move to a form of Democratic Socialism like Norway or Canada that way everyone can have access to healthcare, universal basic income, and everyone can prosper. The problem with that is simple, we are vastly larger than all of the so called democratic socialist countries. Those types of policies work when the population is small and the govt can pay for all of those things. The healthcare in Canada and these countries is terrible, that is why they come to the US for most major surgeries and procedures. The other thing that fails is the freedoms the citizens give up for the illusion of safety. The governments in these countries tell their people not to worry about anything, the govt will take care of you. Throughout history we have seen fascism and communism rise from societies built upon these beliefs. Fascist dictators preach unity and doing what is best for the greater good. Telling their citizens they need to give up their rights to allow all of them to become better. They have told individuals that individualism is bad and we should all be "German" or "Italian" or "Russian" first. In America we reject that idea and preach individual freedom, expressing yourself, and being who ever you want to be. In a country that has the values I am being told are for the greater good we would lose those freedoms.
I value all human life, born and unborn. I value my freedoms and the luxuries I have here in America. I value my way of life and the ability to go to the store and have the shelves stocked. I value the ability to go out and spend time with family and friends. I value the comfort of knowing our military is one of the best in the world. I value knowing people float on make shift rafts and battle oceans to come to our country. I value all of the things that America is and stands for. So if you ask me if I will ever give up all of the things I value for the "greater good" my answer is simple, Hell no. The same people using the freedoms America provides to protest, riot, argue on Facebook via their new I-Phone, scream at people in restaurants and bars, and do all of the other things to virtue signal to everyone how woke they are will be the first ones arrested by the tyrants they put in charge and give all of their freedoms to. For those of us willing to stand up and say enough is enough and value all our freedoms and principles, we may be the ones put to death when these tyrants take over but the best thing about that will be the fact we wont be around to see the downfall of our once great society. Stand up now so we don't have to kneel later.
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